Navy Replaces Woke Tribute With True American Hero

In a powerful move that signals the end of politically-driven military symbolism, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Friday the renaming of a Navy ship once dedicated to a gay rights icon. The USNS Harvey Milk will now bear the name of Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson a genuine American war hero whose self-sacrifice in World War II earned him the Medal of Honor.

The decision comes as part of a broader push by the Pentagon under Hegseth to strip political activism from military honors and return to recognizing service members for valor, not ideology.

“We are taking the politics out of ship-naming,” Hegseth declared. “This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration.”

Here’s what you need to know about the man now honored by the Navy:

• Chief Oscar V. Peterson died from third-degree burns after single-handedly saving the USS Neosho during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.

• Despite grave wounds, Peterson closed the ship’s bulkhead stop valves to keep it operational under Japanese attack, demonstrating extraordinary bravery.

• He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and buried at sea, leaving behind a wife and two sons.

Compare that to the prior namesake, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco city supervisor best known for his activism and being one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country. Milk’s naval career was, by all accounts, undistinguished. Yet during the Obama administration in 2016, then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus launched a campaign to name ships after civil rights figures, giving Milk a place of honor in the fleet—one that stood more for ideology than military achievement.

Hegseth’s renaming signals a needed course correction. Americans are tired of watching their military turned into a showcase for left-wing activism. We want heroes honored for sacrifice and courage not their place in someone’s social agenda.

A recent poll by Rasmussen found that 60% of Americans believe the U.S. military has become too political, and only 33% of active-duty personnel have “a great deal” of trust in military leadership. Moves like Hegseth’s go a long way toward restoring faith.

As Hegseth put it, “People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in.” The USNS Oscar V. Peterson now sails under a name that deserves that pride.

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